Glenn McFarlane lists his 20 most moving moments of 2019

Marlion Pickett produced not only the moment of the Grand Final but arguably the moment of the season as his AFL debut ended with a premiership medal. Glenn McFarlane lists the 20 most moving stories of 2019.

Every AFL season is full of highs and lows and 2019 was no different.

Glenn McFarlane reveals his 20 most moving moments of the year.

Do you agree? Tell us which moment moved you in 2019.

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1. GOODBYE DANNY

The sudden death of much-loved personality and former Saints champion Danny Frawley — at 56 — rocked the AFL world. But it also shone an important spotlight on mental health. His passing produced an outpouring of emotions. It led to a fitting farewell at his former sporting home of Moorabbin where Frawley received one last lap — and one final round of applause — from the faithful.

Danny Frawley is given one last lap of Moorabbin. Picture: AAP

2. ONE GAME, ONE FLAG

It wasn’t just the moment of the Grand Final; it was the moment of the season. Marlion Pickett’s third-quarter goal almost brought a tear to Jack Riewoldt’s eye and thrilled football fans across the nation. Seeing his kids celebrate in the middle of the MCG while their dad ended his first game with a premiership medal was almost as good. The 27-year-old was footy's ultimate redemption story — from jail as a teenager to the AFL's Holy Grail via the mid-season draft.

Marlion Pickett won a premiership medal in his first AFL game. Picture: Getty Images

3. MAJAK’S BACK

The vision of Majak Daw running on the Alter G machine at Arden St in late March while being applauded by his North Melbourne teammates was one of the feel-good moments of the season. Daw’s football career appeared over after he suffered serious injuries, including major pelvic injuries, in a fall from the Bolte Bridge late last year. But his physical recovery was extraordinary. He made his return to the VFL in July. He and his partner Emily McKay also became first-time parents of baby Hendrix.

Majak Daw in his return in the VFL. Picture: Mark Stewart

4. SILK, GOODES

Football failed Adam Goodes during the booing controversy that brought a messy end to the dual Brownlow medallist’s career in 2015. But the release of two powerful documentaries in 2019 changed the narrative. The AFL and its 18 clubs made a formal public apology. Even more powerful was a decision by Hawthorn players, led by Shaun Burgoyne, to wear Goodes’ No.37 on their warm-up guernseys before their game against Sydney. Burgoyne would later break Goodes’ record as the most AFL games for an Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander.

5. THE NEALE DEAL

Neale Daniher’s passionate address to the Melbourne playing group ahead of the Big Freeze clash with Collingwood was a message of hope from a man who knows he is in a hopeless position. But his life lesson went far beyond the meeting room at AAMI Park. Confronted by the “Beast”, as Daniher calls motor neurone disease, he centred his message on what he wants for his infant grandson, Cooper. He said: “What drives me is, ‘how can I help people?’ There’s a saying: ‘When all’s said and done, more’s said than done. And the mark of a person is not what they say, it’s what they do.’”

6. ROUGH AND READY

Jarryd Roughead couldn’t have been more dignified when playing for the Box Hill Hawks, having been overlooked for the Hawthorn senior side in the second half of the year. Not even a long-running public campaign aimed at giving him a farewell game saw him speak out against the decision not to pick him. Ultimately, he played that farewell game in the penultimate match of the year — against Gold Coast — booting six goals and earning two Brownlow Medal votes.

Jarryd Roughead kicked six goals in his farewell game. Picture: Michael Klein

7. CLUBS SHOW HEART

The way all 18 clubs embraced those less fortunate in the community, particularly children, brought a tear to our eyes in 2019. Collingwood allowed gravely ill six-year-old Kyron McGuire into the inner sanctum for the clash with Port Adelaide in May. Hawks Jarman Impey and Chad Wingard led blind teenager Cebby Johnson out for the Easter Monday clash with Geelong. And young Henry Baum, who suffers from a rare blood condition and uses crutches and a wheelchair, presented a premiership medal to Richmond Bachar Houli on the podium. More of that, please!

8. BOYD LEADS THE WAY

Mental health is the biggest issue in football and kudos to the players — past and present — who spoke bravely about their battles this year. Bulldogs premiership hero Tom Boyd retired from AFL football to deal with his mental health issues, sacrificing $2 million of his contract in the process. Dayne Beams described himself as “a broken man” as he stepped away from the game, while his teammate Adam Treloar detailed his anxieties. St Kilda”s Jack Steven also made a strong return after he took time out from football.

9. HEARTACHE FOR ‘LIDS’

There were two heart-wrenching moments for GWS midfielder Brett Deledio. The first came in the moments after the elimination final win over Western Bulldogs as he was chaired off in tears, knowing his latest calf injury meant it was likely his final game. The second moment came when the 32-year-old showed his class by seeking out his former coach Damien Hardwick and ex-skipper Trent Cotchin in the rooms to congratulate them on their Grand Final success. He must have wondered what might have been for him.

An emotional Brett Deledio gets chaired from the field after what would be his last AFL game. Picture: Phil Hillyard

10. HERE COME THE LIONS

It's hard to believe some people doubted Brisbane coach Chris Fagan at the start of the season. By season’s end the connection between the coach and his players was evident for everyone to see. The most tangible moment came after the Lions had upset Geelong in the dying moments of the Round 22 game — thanks to a spectacular mark and goal from Lincoln McCarthy. Fagan sprinted out onto the ground, embracing his players in sheer joy.

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11. BRAVE BULLDOG

We thought Dale Morris was indestructible, and for the most part of his career he was. But the Round 19 clash with Fremantle sadly proved otherwise. Having endured countless injuries throughout his career, the courageous premiership Bulldog made his return from a pre-season ACL tear in that game. He had six disposals in the first half before an innocuous piece of play saw him reach for his knee again. It was the end of the road for one of the Bulldogs’ most beloved characters.

12. LOW-KEY LUKE

It was typical Luke Hodge, refusing to have a fuss made when he played his 346th — and last — game of AFL football after the Lions bowed out in a Gabba semi-final. He refused to be chaired from the field, bowing out on his own terms. It came in the same year as his teammate Jarryd Roughead and Jordan Lewis retired, while other AFL veterans Jarrad McVeigh, Brett Deledio, Dale Thomas, Daniel Wells, Aaron Sandilands, Dale Morris, Kieren Jack, Heath Grundy, Scott Thompson and Shaun Grigg also called time.

13. ‘TEAGUE TRAIN’ AND THE CARETAKERS

This isn’t a new covers band, ready to belt out some tunes. It’s the group of three men who took over wounded clubs and galvanised them. By season’s end, we had five senior coach departures. But it was the performance of three “caretakers” — David Teague (Carlton), Rhyce Shaw (North Melbourne) and Brett Ratten (St Kilda) — that shone. Teague got the Blues playing attacking football — and winning. All three performed so well they were handed the role in their own right.

David Teague celebrates a win in his first game as interim coach. Picture: Michael Klein

14. IN AWE OF ERIN

It was a stark contrast in emotions. The AFLW grand final between Adelaide and Carlton at a packed Adelaide Oval in March produced a cauldron rarely seen in women’s sport around the world. A record AFLW crowd of more than 53,000 fans attended the match and the roar was spine-tingling. But that high was offset by the emotional moment when star Erin Phillips suffered a serious knee injury during the third quarter. The moment the crowd applauded a tearful Phillips from the field — with a standing ovation — won't be forgotten in a hurry.

Erin Phillips in action during the AFLW grand final before injuring her knee. Picture: AFL Photos

15. THE KICK

Sometimes the worst in people can produce the best in us all. When Carlton AFLW star Tayla Harris was trolled over a social media post showing her kicking a goal against the Western Bulldogs, the footy world and the community rallied around her. The image — known as “The Kick” — became a symbol from which to celebrate the women’s game. A statue of “The Kick” was funded and unveiled in Melbourne’s CBD during the AFL finals, with Harris saying: “It’s more than me just kicking football, it’s a message, it’s a turning point in Australian society.”

16. SUPER NAT

There were times in recent seasons when we wondered if we would ever see the best of Fremantle’s Nat Fyfe again because of injury. But what the Dockers skipper achieved this year to win his second Brownlow Medal was extraordinary. Then he produced a memorable Brownlow Medal speech that won over more fans. The umpires obviously like him, so it would not surprise to see become only the fifth man to win three “Charlies” in the future.

17. THE BETTS/STACK HIGH-FIVE

Footy is a serious game, we get that. But when there is lighthearted banter on the field — mixed in with a hug and a high-five — it’s bloody good to see. So when Eddie Betts was able to get away from Tiger Sydney Stack for a goal, you just knew something was going to happen next. Betts grinned at Stack, then the pair embraced, high-fived and hugged briefly. It was a touching moment between a veteran and a first-year player. Then, they went at it again at the next contest.

Sydney Stack hugs Eddie Betts after his miraculous goal. Picture: Channel 7

18. TEARS AND EMOTIONAL INTERVIEWS

Emotion flowed over when Brendon Bolton and Alan Richardson spoke about their respective departures from Carlton and St Kilda. Bolton fought back tears as he addressed the media and Richardson choked up when talking about his family. It was hard to watch. Brad Scott's eyes welled after his last game as Kangaroos coach as he celebrated a win over Western Bulldogs. For different reasons, Paddy McCartin and Jaidyn Stephenson feature also. McCartin’s emotional radio interview speaking of his debilitating concussion effects tugged at the heart strings. Jaidyn Stephenson’s devastation at his 10-game gambling ban press conference was impossible to ignore.

19. THE COUSINS RIOLI

Twelve months on from playing a role in West Coast’s 2018 premiership, Willie Rioli was a shattered man on Grand Final day this year, after being provisionally suspended for two drug infractions. He faces an uncertain football future. But his cousin, Richmond’s Daniel Rioli, wasn’t about to forget him. When Rioli kicked a goal before the quarter-time siren on Grand Final day, he put four fingers up on each hand to signal Willie’s No.44 jumper. He had “44” written on the tape on his wrists.

20. THE LAPS

If Richmond ever needed any extra inspiration before its Grand Final triumph, it came from an emotional lap run by Jack Higgins and Alex Rance on the Thursday at the Tigers’ training session. Both could well have been playing, but for misfortune. Higgins’ season ended in July when a brain bleed was discovered after he suffered headaches following a VFL game. He had more surgery in September. His scar on the back of his neck was visible as he ran laps with Rance, who suffered a knee injury in the first game of the season, but still gave plenty back to the club from the sidelines.